"Besides the teachers and CSEA, I have the overwhelming support of the union movement in the state, and I’m very proud of it," Cuomo told reporters at the State Fair in Syracuse today. "The teachers and CSEA, we have a legitimate difference of opinion."

Cuomo is expected to win the support of most private unions, who are to benefit from some of Cuomo's largest initiatives, such as building a $3.9 billion new Tappan Zee Bridge in the Hudson Valley.

Cuomo recognized that he's battled the public unions -- first in 2011 over new contracts for state workers and then with NYSUT over teacher evaluations and tougher testing standards. CSEA and NYSUT didn't endorse Cuomo in 2010, but PEF did and so did the AFL-CIO.

"That was my issue with the teachers and CSEA then. I have the same issue with the teachers and CSEA today," Cuomo explained. "The only difference at the AFL-CIO convention, they didn’t pass the way they did four years ago."

Cuomo said the state needed to pare costs when he took office in 2011, leading unions to get no raises for the first several years of their contracts. For schools, he said, he's increased state aid in recent years.

"We spend more money for education than any state in the nation. It’s about how we are spending the money; it’s about performance," Cuomo continued. "I also said to the public employees union that the budget was too big and that taxes were too high and we were going to have to streamline the state government because we couldn’t afford it anymore."